Means for automatically applying air-brakes in derailments.



BEST AVNLABLE 246. RAELWAY swif l E. s. GOFPMAN.

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY APPLYING AIR BRAKES IN DERAILMENTS.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV.15.1904.

PATENTED MAR. 21, 1905.

%. 25am. (Mu/441 Stream no. 785,153. 3* a UNITED STM N sssr AvAiPatented March 21, 1905.

LE CC? ATE-NT OFFICE.

ED\VARI) S. COFFMAN, OF CLIF'IONFORG E, VIRGINIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,153, dated March21, 1905.

I Application filed November 15,1904. Serial No. 232.865. I

To (I'll whom, it may concern.-

Be it known thatl, EDWARD S. COFFMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Clit' tonr'orge, in the county of Alleghany and State ofVirginia, have invented new and useful Iniprovements in Means forAutomatically. Applying Air-Brakes in Derailrnents, of which thefollowing is a specification. v

The object of my invention is the provision of means, in connection withthe trucks of locomotives, tenders, and cars, whereby when a truckbecomes derailed the air-brakes shall immediately be applied throughoutthe train, said means to be simple in construction, cheap in first costand maintenance, easily applied to trucks now in use, not liable tobecome inoperative or to be brought into operation in normal service,and which shall constitute a superior instrumentality for the purposeintended.

With the above-mentioned end in view my invention consists in certainnovelties of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forthand claimed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an example of the physicalembodiment of my invention constructed according to the best mode I haveso far devised for the practical application of the principle.

Figure 1 shows the end of a box-car, a truck in longitudinal section,and an air-brake train pipe with my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is apartial end view of Fig. 1, showing the location of my device relativeto the truck and train-pipe. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the operating baror rod. Fig. 4 shows in plan view the bar which directly engages thehandle of the air-discharge valve.

Referring to the several figures, the numeral 1 designates the car-body;2, the truck-wheels; 3, the axles; 4:, the truck-frame, which may be ofany type; 5, the truck-bolster; 6, the spring-plank, rigidly secured tothe frame and constituting a part thereof; 7 the train-pipe, which is ofusual construction; 8, an anglecock; 9, the hose-coupling; 10, in thisinstance an air-discharge valve of anyapproved form; 11, a passage forthe escape of air from the train-pipe when the valve is opened; 12, ahan dle for operating the plug of the valve, which plug is disposed inahorizontal plane with the handle at the side of the pipe; 13, anoperating bar or rod bolted at one end to the springplauk of the truck;14:, the curved portion of the bar, 15, the bar which is suspended fromthe handle of the valve; 16, a hole at one end which passes overthehandle of the valve; 17,

a cotter passed through a hole in the handle and which retains the barin place; 18, an clongatcd slot in the opposite end of the bar, and I9is a cotter passed through ahole in the end of the o 'ieratiug-bar.

The end of the operating-bar loosely engages the perpcmlicular bar, andthe latter loosely engages the handle of the valve, so that when thetruck takes a position oblique to the car-body on curves the lower endof the perpendicular bar can move sidewise. The elongated slot in theend of the perpendicular bar allows a limited movement oii the eaizbodyupon tli e s pi'ingsaiid theho i-iaontal movement of the operatingbarwithout bringing the device into operation,as jsobvious froin anilis'izEioriofthedrawings.

The mode of o 'ieia ti on is as follows: Should a pair of wheelsmve thetrack, the frame of the truck will also drop and carry \i ith it' theopcrating-barfthe end of the latter pulling down the perpendicular bar,which in turn will depress the handle of the valve and open upcommunication from the train-pipe to the atmosphere, allowing the airunder compression in the pipe to escape, and thus applying the brakesthroughout the train.

1n the practical application of myimprovement modifications and changesmay of course be introduced. The angle-cock and releasevalve may be castin one piece, the operatingbar be secured to any desired part of thetruck-frame, and the end of the bar be located above the axle instead ofbelow it and the bar 15 be made in two pieces and adjustably united bybolts. All such and analogous alterations, changes, and substitutions ofequivalents will not be regarded as substantial departures.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the train-pipe having a valve with a handle, ofa bar loosely engaging the handle and having a rotary motion about thesame as a center; and an operating bar or rod secured at one end to thetruckframe and at the other end loosely engaging the bar which issecured to the handle of the valve.

2. The combination with the train-pipe having a valve with a handlelocated at the side of the pipe, of a bar suspended from the handle; andan operating-bar rigidly secured at one end to the truck-frame and atthe other end loosely engaging the bar which is suspended from thehandle of the valve.

3. The combination with the train-pipe provided with a valve having ahandle, of a bar secured at one end to the handle, the opposite end ofthe said bar being slotted; and an operating-bar secured at one end tothe truckframe and the free end thereof located within the slot of thefirst-mentioned bar.

t. The combination with a train-pipe having a valve with a handle, of anoperating-bar rigidly secured at one end to the truck-frame AVMLABLE 0between the pairs of wheels; and means interposed between and looselyuniting the handle and the end of the operating-bar. said means beingmovable relative to both the handle and the bar, so that the truck mayswivel and move the operating-bar in a horizontal plane for a limiteddistance without rotating the valve-handle.

5. The combination with a train-pipe having a valve with a handle foroperating a valve-plug, of an operating-bar secured at one end to thespring-plank of a truck-frame and between the pairs of wheels; and meansyieldingly connecting the valve-handle and the free end of theoperating-bar, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof l aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD S. COFFMAN.

\Vitnesses:

W. F. POWELL, R. 1). NUCKOLS.

